


The Patriot

by LilianHalcombe



Series: Empire's Fall [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Canon Queer Character, Canon Queer Character of Color, Canon Queer Relationship, F/F, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 08:02:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3320060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilianHalcombe/pseuds/LilianHalcombe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Continues the story that began in Aftermath. While Korra and the Republic City Police pursue separate investigations into the Kuvira loyalists, Varrick has to adjust to a permanent police escort shadowing his every move as he expands his Republic City business. Meanwhile, times are tough for the Triple Threat Triad and gang boss Viper finds himself faced with a difficult choice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

* * *

 

Kuang would never describe himself as a morning person, especially after he had spent a late night bargaining with greedy newspaper editors. This morning, however, his pockets were weighed down by the wad of yuans he had received for selling the photographs he had taken the previous day and he was eager to pay off a few old debts before he wasted it all on booze and bets. After washing his face with cold water, and clearing away the mess on his kitchen table, he slung his camera bag over his shoulder and headed out to face the day.

The first thing he noticed as he walked out his front door on to the footpath was the bright morning sun. Shading his eyes with one hand he reached into his camera bag, pulled out his hat, and stuck it on his head, tugging the front down a little to block the direct sunlight. That was when he noticed the fancy red hot-rod parked on the footpath directly across from his home, its polished metal grille and engine gleaming in the sun.

Three men leaned against the car. The first was a gaunt man with a pencil-thin moustache and a knife scar that ran down the left side of his face. He was picking his teeth with a toothpick and looking down at his shoes. The second man was staring directly at Kuang with a nasty smile on his face. He was a tall man dressed in a coat of water-tribe blue, with a gold necklace hanging around his neck, and a matching gold pocket watch. Standing between those two was a larger man dressed in an expensive grey suit with white stockings and gloves. His face was hidden behind a copy of the Republic News, the photograph Kuang had taken prominent on the front page.

As Kuang glanced down the road towards the nearby train station and weighed up if it was worth running, the man with the scar spat out the toothpick and took a step forward, while the man in blue reached into his jacket to pull out a long knife with a gold hilt.

“Ah Kuang,” a smooth voice said. The newspaper was carefully folded across the middle of the page and the rugged features of Viper, the waterbending boss of the Triple Threat Triad, came into view.

“I was just on my way to see you,” Kuang said, taking a step backwards. The brickwork of his apartment building pressed against his back and he knew he had nowhere to run.

“Of course you were,” Viper said. “Shady Shin, didn't I just say that Kuang was the sort of man who honoured his debts. The sort of man who, as soon as he came into some purple, would rush to see his old friend Viper and pay what he owed. How much does he owe us now?”

“Nearly two thousand, Boss,” the man in blue replied.

“Two thousand,” Viper repeated. “That's a lot of yuans for an unlucky news hound like you. Do you have my two thousand yuans, Kuang? Two-toed Ping here is getting very impatient.”

“That's right, Boss,” the man with the scar said. “I'm an impatient kind of guy.”

Kuang dug into his pocket and pulled out a stack of notes. “I can pay you five hundred,” he said, holding out the notes for Viper to take.

Shady Shin snatched them out of his hand and quickly counted the money. “Five hundred, Boss,” he said, folding the notes up again and slipping them into a coat pocket.

“Looks like you just bought yourself a week, Kuang,” Viper said, tossing the newspaper at the photographer. It bounced off the photographer's broad chest and fell on the footpath. “You'd better get out there and take some more photos,” he suggested. “Because if we don't have another five hundred in our hands by this time next week you won't find us so understanding. Let's go boys, Kuang here has some work to do.”

As Kuang ran off down the street the nearby train station, Shady Shin opened the rear door of the hot-rod for his boss and then jumped into the driver seat. Two-Toed Ping took a moment to walk over and pick up the newspaper before he climbed into the front passenger seat.

“What do you want that for?” Shady Shin said.

“There is a good picture of Mako on the front page,” Two-Toed Ping replied. “See, he's dating the Avatar again.”

“That's why I don't read those things,” Shady Shin said. “There is no chance a loser like Mako is dating the Avatar. I didn't believe it the first time and I don't believe it now. She's a classy girl, she needs someone high-class.”

“Like you?”

“Yeah, exactly, someone like me.”

Viper reached out and slapped Shady Shin across the back of the head. “Get moving you idiot, we have a dozen more of these losers to visit before we head back to the club.”

 

* * *

 

A loud noise woke Mako from his slumber. At first he lay on his bed in the dim light that filtered past the blinds and wondered what was happening, but he soon heard a loud screeching noise from the brakes beneath the carriage. He reached out to touch the wall and felt a strong vibration running through the entire carriage as the train slowed rapidly.

A distant voice sounded like Wu calling out to him, so Mako threw off the covers and leapt out of bed. He pulled the door to the hallway open and found several other sleepy passengers poking their heads out of their cabins. “What's going on?” he asked as Bumi walked out of his cabin. Like Mako, the older airbender was wearing just his shorts and a singlet.

“No idea,” Bumi said, yawning loudly and stretching. “Are we stopping?”

“Where is Wu?” Mako demanded to know.

“In his room?” Bumi suggested, looking over at Wu's cabin. The door to the prince's cabin was still closed, but only silence could be heard from the room beyond.

Mako ran to the door and pushed it open, hurrying into the room the check on Wu. The prince huddled on the floor, curled up and covered by a royal-green blanket trimmed with gold thread. “Mako!” he cried when he saw his bodyguard enter. “It was horrible.”

“Are you all right?” Mako asked, helping the prince up off the floor and removing the blanket and tossing it back on the bed. Wu wore his green silk pyjamas with the gold symbol of the earth kingdom on the breast and Mako couldn't see any sign of an injury.

“What's happening?” Wu asked. “I got tossed out of bed. You need to tell the driver that is no way to drive my train.”

“Wait here,” Mako told the prince. “I'll go and find out what is going on.”

Mako went back to the door to see who was awake. Aside from Bumi, Lei and Jing-mei were also awake and standing near the door of their shared cabin. Both were still dressed for bed, but they looked alert and awake. There was no sign of Ryu or Grandma Yin and the doors to their cabins were still closed. “Guard the prince,” he told the two women. “Bumi come with me.”

“But...” Bumi began, pointing to his room.

“Now,” Mako ordered. Bumi threw up his hands and followed the fire bender towards the front of the cabin. By now the train had come to a stop, but as the terrain outside looked barren and desolate, this was certainly not a scheduled station.

The next carriage on from the prince's contained the Wu's expansive private bathroom as well as a fully stocked kitchen to tend to his desires and the small quarters sets aside for Wu's cook and servants. They were already awake and had been working on preparing the morning meal. Mako ordered them to stay in the kitchen, and keep low and out of sight. With Bumi close behind he entered the last carriage before the engine.

This carriage was mainly used for storage, which on this trip was mainly Wu's baggage, but it also had quarters for the engine's crew. A long-haul train like this had three engineers and two maintenance staff who could potentially keep it running non-stop from Republic City to Ba Sing Se, although on this trip a short stop was planned about halfway through the long journey.

“What's going on?” Mako asked when he saw one of the crew near the entrance to his small cabin.

“No idea,” the man said. “We've stopped, but we weren't scheduled to stop until around midday.”

“All right, stay in your cabin,” Mako told him. “I'll check it out.”

“Right,” the man said, stepping back inside his cabin.

“We'll sort this out,” Bumi assured the man.

“Come on, Bumi,” Mako called over his shoulder as he pulled open the door between the carriage and the engine.

The engineer on duty was waiting for them in the control room, looking extremely concerned. “At last,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“What's going on?” Mako asked.

The engineer pointed out the small window at the front of his compartment that allowed him see the track ahead. Mako peered through the window and his eyes widened as he saw the entire track for as far as he could see now lay buried under rubble. “What caused this?” he asked the engineer. “A rock fall?”

“Nothing natural,” the engineer said, looking at the steep hills that rose on either side of the track and shivering in fear as his imagination conjured unseen enemies who lurked just out of sight.

 

* * *

 

Lin had been up for most of the night dealing with the aftermath of the events from the previous evening and it was beginning to show as her temper frayed. “You don't have a choice,” she snapped at Varrick. “If you want to leave here then you are going to accept a police escort, President Raiko's orders.”

“Well that's totally unacceptable, Lin,” Varrick said. “How can I be expected to run a successful business when I'm burdened with a pair of varricake scoffing simpletons.”

“Then you can stay here,” Lin said.

Varrick looked ready to argue, but Zhu Li placed a restraining hand across his mouth. “What my husband means to say, Lin, is that many of our business dealings are of a sensitive nature and can not be conducted in the presence of your officers.”

“Are you saying my officers can't be trusted?”

“Of course not, but it only takes one innocently misplaced word and we risk losing hundreds of thousands of yuans. Perhaps...”

“Your business dealings aren't my concern,” Lin said. “Raiko ordered that you have a police escort, so while you are in this city you'll have one and if you aren't happy with that then I can find a cell downstairs for you instead.”

“I already have a bodyguard,” Varrick pointed out.

“With all due respect to Mr Yao...”

“Big Yao,” the former pro-bender said. “My name is Big Yao.”

Lin sighed. “All right, Big Yao, but no matter what you call yourself it doesn't change the fact that you weren't able to keep Varrick safe last time.”

“That wasn't his fault,” Varrick complained. “No one could have expected those two metalbenders to ambush us in the middle of the bay like that. With the modifications I've made to my launch, their boat shouldn't have even been able to catch us.”

“Perhaps we can compromise,” Zhu Li said. “Not about the escort,” she quickly added before Lin could argue. “But, if you can bend the rules just a little so we can conduct business matters in private while your officers remain outside the room then we can accept that. They would still be guarding us, just not in the room guarding us. Is that acceptable?”

“Okay,” Lin agreed. “I don't like it, but if that's what it takes to get you out of my office then I can agree to that. However, if either of you try to give my men the slip then I'll have you stuck here in protective custody for as long as it takes us to bring the rest of these Kuvira loyalists to justice.”

“We can accept that,” Zhu Li said. Varrick said nothing, instead he plucked the morning copy of the Republic News off Lin's desk and flicked through the first few pages.

“Good,” Lin said. “The two officers I've chosen are already waiting outside for you.”

“I still think you are Raiko are worrying about what is probably a very small threat,” Varrick said, holding up the copy of the newspaper so Lin could see the front page, which featured a photograph of Korra hugging Mako at the train station yesterday under the headline 'Rekindled Love for Avatar Korra?'

“See,” Varrick said, slapping the paper. “We didn't even make the front page, and you already have the culprits in prison. Those other two I saw getting paid off have probably left the city by now.”

“Varrick, we just settled this!” Lin said, snatching the newspaper off him and tossing it into the waste paper basket beneath her desk. “Anyway, I don't agree with you. Yesterday few people were willing to take the threat from these Kuvira loyalists seriously, but if this small group was able to kidnap you in the heart of the city in broad daylight, then there is not telling how far they will go or what their goals might be.”

“I still think it's an overreaction,” Varrick said, folding his arms and slumping down in his chair.

“Well until Raiko changes his orders you are stuck with my officers,” Lin said.

“Varrick,” Zhu Li said. “Let's go. We still have a lot to do and I don't think you are going to win this argument.”

“All right,” Varrick sighed. “Let's get this over with. Where is this escort of yours, Lin?”

“They are waiting for you outside my office, but before you leave, Zhu Li I believe this belong to you.” Lin opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a folder filled with loose papers. “We recovered this from your boat. It had slipped down beside one of the chairs and looked important.”

“Thank you,” Zhu Li replied, taking the folder and checking through the papers inside.

“Is our launch here?” Varrick asked. “We need to get back to our yacht to pick up our satomobile. It should have been winched ashore by now.”

“Detective Dakola has sealed your boat,” Lin said. “She needs time for her team to properly search it for evidence relating to those two mercenaries you mentioned. They weren't among the prisoners or the bodies recovered from the sewers so they must still be out there somewhere. Based on your description and Mr Yao's evidence it seems they were the only two competent members of the entire group.”

“Big Yao,” the bodyguard reminded Lin.

“Then how are we going to get back to our yacht?” Varrick asked.

“I have assigned a patrol vehicle to the officers who will be escorting you,” Lin replied. “They can drive you back to your Yacht and then will follow you when you leave in your own vehicle.”

“Just as long as they can keep up,” Varrick said.

The phone on Lin's desk rang and she picked up the receiver. “Send him up immediately,” she said after a few moments listening to the person on the other end. She hung up the phone and waved a hand towards the door. “Get out of here,” she said. “I have an important meeting.”

“Goodbye, Lin,” Zhu Li said, prodding her husband into leaving the office. Two uniformed officers looked up expectantly from a nearby desk as Varrick and his companions emerged from Lin's office, but the inventor's gaze flicked passed them and settled on the group of men and woman who had just entered the exterior office, led by President Raiko.

“Raiko,” he called out. “I want to talk to you.”

“Not now,” Raiko said as he brushed past them.

“Wait,” Varrick said. “This escort idea is...”

Raiko cut him off. “Make an appointment, Varrick,” he said. “I'm too busy now.”

As the door to Lin's office shut behind the president and his party, Varrick stared at it in annoyance. “You'd think after all the money I gave him to fund his campaign he'd be a little more generous with his time,” he complained loudly. “Well no more, do you hear me, next time I'm only going to support the other guy.”

Before anyone could say anything more, the older of the two uniformed officers took a step forward. “Mr Varrick, we have been assigned as your escorts.”

“Do you have names?” Varrick asked.

“I'm Sergeant Tang and this is Officer Song,” the officer said. “We are both senior patrol officers,” he added.

“So you'll be guarding us day and night eh?”

“We'll be the morning shift,” Tang said. “We will be replaced by a second shift this afternoon and a third shift will take over later tonight.” He pointed to a bulky radio clipped to his belt. “We have portable radios to call into the station if anything happens and so our replacement can find us no matter where we go.”

“They look rather heavy,” Varrick commented. “You know I could probably design something that is half the...”

“You'll need to take that up with Chief Beifong,” the Sergeant said. “She authorises all purchases.”

“Lin said you had a vehicle?” Zhu Li asked.

“Chief Beifong has made a patrol vehicle available to us,” Office Song said. “It's waiting out the front of the station. Where do you need to go?”

“Well, first I think we need something to eat,” Varrick said. “Lin needs to do something about the food here. It's barely edible.”

“Say whatever happened to those verricakes you used to sell?” Officer Song asked. “I used to love those.”

Varrick turned and looked at Zhu Li. “See what did I tell you, we need to buy that bakery back.”

“If we can afford it,” Zhu Li said. “But we can talk about this later. In private.”

“Right then,” Varrick said, throwing a friendly arm around Officer Song. “What are we waiting for, let's get the satomobile on the road. Narook's is close by, we can get a good proper breakfast there, my treat.”

 

* * *

 

“I see that the Republic News is keeping to their usual standards of accurate reporting,” Tenzin said as he tossed the newspaper into the centre of the breakfast table.

“Oh dear, what is it this time?” Pema asked, placing a plate of sliced fruit down in front of Meelo.

“Nothing important,” Tenzin said. “Just more speculation on Korra's relationships. You would think they could find something better to write about by now, and that they would show a little more respect for the Avatar instead of making up more nonsense.”

Jinora snatched the paper from the centre of the table and turned it over to read the front page. Then she frowned and tossed it back on the table where it slid across towards Meelo who eyed it suspiciously. “Can I be excused?” She asked, looking over at Tenzin.

“Jinora, you know my views on a healthy diet. Eat your breakfast before you waste more time with Kai.”

Jinora grabbed two oranges out of the fruit basket in the centre of the table and held them up. “I can eat these,” she said.

Tenzin sighed in frustration. “All right, but remember we have two new trainees here at the moment so I'll need your help later with teaching.”

The young airbending master nodded and kissed her father on the cheek before running out the door.

“She spends far too much time with that boy,” Tenzin said.

“They are young,” Pema said, reaching over the table with a cloth in hand to wipe Rohan's mouth clean. “Normal teenagers like to go out and have fun, not spend all day studying and teaching.”

In between feeding his pet lemur, Poki, juicy slices of peach and other fruit, Meelo read the front page of the newspaper upside down. “You're right, Dad,” he said. “This paper is definitely wrong, Korra isn't in love with Mako.”

From her seat across the table, Ikki snorted. “What do you know of love.”

“More than you,” Meelo sneered back at this sister, tossing a peach slice at her head. She ducked and it landed on the floor behind her. Poki leapt up and glided across the table after the peach, chattering excitedly. Ikki used her airbending to blow the newspaper into Meelo's face.

“Children,” Pema said in her best mum voice. “No airbending at the table.”

“But it's true, Mum,” Meelo said. “Korra is in love with Asami.”

“Wait,” Tenzin said. “How do you know this, Meelo.”

“Well, it's obvious,” Meelo said. “At the wedding I asked Asami to dance with me and she refused. The only way Asami would ever be able to resist this much Meelo is if she was in love with someone else and the only other person worthy of her is Korra. Then Korra asked Asami to go away with her just like Varrick and Zhu Li went away after the wedding. As I said, it's obvious.”

“That's so beautiful,” Ikki said, clasping her hands together in excitement. “When do you think they will be getting married? Can we all go to the wedding? Can I cut my hair for the wedding? Can I get new clothes? I want to wear a dress this time, Dad. Why haven't they told us yet?”

Tenzin looked flustered and wasn't sure what to say. He glanced over at Pema who came to the rescue. “How about you both give Korra and Asami some time to themselves,” she suggested. “If they are together then they will tell us all when they feel ready.”

 

* * *

 

Jinora tucked the oranges into the flap in her wing-suit and ran down to the docks where an old air acolyte was sweeping the steps clean. “Gato,” she said. “How many copies of the Republic News did we get delivered today?”

“Three as always, Master Jinora,” the old man replied. “One for Master Tenzin, one for the women's dormitory and one for the men's. Same as we get every day.”

“Where do you put the ones for the dormitories? In the common rooms?”

“That's right, Master Jinora.”

“Thanks,” Jinora said, rushing off up the stairs, leaving the acolyte shaking his head in confusion at her strange behaviour.

The men's dormitory was quiet by the time Jinora arrived, with most the of the airbenders away on missions or already out working and training. She carefully opened the door and sneaked across to the low table that appeared to hold the morning's papers and other reading material. However, when she searched through the small pile of magazines and newspapers there was no sign on the Republic News, only the other two daily newspapers.

“Looking for this,” Kai asked. He was leaning up against side of the door that led towards the bedrooms dangling the copy of the newspaper between his thumb and forefinger, and he had a broad, knowing smile on his face.

“You can't believe that story,” Jinora said.

“I don't know about that,” Kai said, looking at the front page again. “This looks like pretty good photographic proof that Korra is actually dating Mako.”

“It's just a hug,” Jinora argued. “That doesn't prove anything.”

“I seem to recall we agreed on photographic proof,” Kai reminded her. “Besides it says here 'Avatar Korra spent most of the time at the side of her ex-boyfriend, Mako, the former detective and pro-bender who now works as Prince Wu's personal bodyguard. As the two said goodbye they were seen by this reporter and others to share a passionate hug.' That seems pretty convincing to me.”

“You did say that you would only accept proof of Asami and Korra holding hands or a kiss, so the same must be true for disproving their relationship.”

“Or something,” Kai said. “I seem to recall adding that to the end.”

“That's too vague, I would never agree to a hug being proof,” Jinora said, folding her arms. “Korra hugs people all the time.”

“All right,” Kai said with a laugh. “But this bet looks like it's in the bag now, even the newspapers agree with me.”

“I wouldn't get too confident,” Jinora said. “Remember, that Korra is still staying every night at Asami's apartment.”

“They are just good friends,” Kai said. “They are probably talking about boys or something.”

Jinora glared at her boyfriend. “Despite what you might think, Kai, girls don't spend every free moment talking about boys.”

“I'm just saying it's a possibility,” Kai said.

“Well, I have work to do,” Jinora said, heading for the door.

“Wait,” Kai called after her. “Are you free for lunch?”

“Depends how busy Dad keeps me with these new trainees.”

“More new trainees?”

Jinora nodded “These two came in from the Earth Kingdom a couple of days ago after bandits razed their farm. I guess they decided the air nation was safer than their homeland.”

“It sounds like things are getting bad again out there again,” Kai said.

“Yeah it is,” Jinora agreed. “Has Dad said anything about sending you on a mission again?”

Kai shook his head. “Not until Opal gets back I think. I won't be able to fight off hordes of bandits on my own.”

“But I'm sure you'd try,” Jinora said with a smile. She spotted her father heading for the main courtyard near the front of the island where a small group of trainees was waiting for their teachers to arrive. She quickly kissed Kai goodbye and hurried down to join Tenzin.

 

* * *

 

“Do we have to get up?” Korra groaned. She lay in bed snuggled up next to Asami with her arm draped across her girlfriend's shoulder.

“Well I do have to go into the office sometime, Korra,” Asami said. “Although it would be nice just to stay here all day.”

“That sounds so perfect,” Korra said, nuzzling the back of Asami's neck. “Let's do that.”

A loud screeching noise came from somewhere inside the building and Korra sat up, looking around in alarm for any potential threat. “What is that,” Korra asked as the noise continued and it was soon joined by a deeper grinding sound.

Asami groaned. “It must be the builders, I forgot that I asked Seiko to send a group of construction workers over here to continue work on the apartment refurbishments. That noise is the saw they use for cutting smoothly through stonework.”

“So I guess we aren't staying in today after all,” Korra said wistfully.

“Sorry, Korra,” Asami said.

“What about lunch then. We can buy something from a street vendor, sit in the park, and have a nice lunch with just the two of us.”

“Aren't you forgetting you already promised to make dinner for me and everyone at Air Temple Island tonight?”

“I still haven't asked Pema yet,” Korra said.

“Well, you haven't had much of a chance yet,” Asami noted. “We only talked about it last night.”

“True,” Korra said. “So I guess I will need to go over to Air Temple Island sometime today and see Pema. But, we can still do both lunch and dinner can't we?”

A whine came from the next room as the noise of the saw woke Naga as well. Large paws padded across the floor and the polar bear dog bumped against the bedroom door and whined again. Asami climbed out of the warm, comfortable bed and searched around on the bedside table. “Where is my dressing gown?” she asked Korra.

“I left it in your workroom when I carried you back to bed,” Korra said, sitting up and stretching her arms above her head to try to work out the soreness she felt in her muscles from the previous night's adventure.

“My workroom?”

“Yes, you fell asleep working on a blueprint.”

“Oh, I guess I did,” Asami said. “I hope I didn't damage it, I need it for work today.” She left the bed and walked over to the door. Seeing Korra's clothes on the floor behind the chair, she bent down to collect them only to grimace at the rank smell rising off the outfit Korra had worn into the sewer last night.

“What exactly were you up to with Lin last night,” Asami asked, carrying Korra's clothes over to her at arm's length and depositing them on the floor next to Korra's side of the bed.

“Chasing some of Kuvira's former soldiers through the sewers to find Varrick.”

“That explains the smell then. Was everyone was okay?”

“Everyone except for three of the soldiers, they were accidentally killed by one of their own who was in a working mecha suit. Lin and I were able to stop him though.”

“And Varrick?”

“Alive and well, although I think he is a bit grumpy with Lin at the moment because she is keeping him in protective custody until she finishes the investigation and is satisfied that there are no more of these Kuvira loyalists around.”

“Sounds like a good place for him,” Asami commented. “Do you want some tea?”

“Yes please,” Korra said. She bent over to collect her clothing and started to pull on her pants, her nose wrinkling at the stench of the sewers that still hung about the outfit. Although she hadn't waded through the muck that filled the sewers, the stench had somehow still managed to permeate the fabric. She decided a quick dip in the ocean later was probably called for, or even better a side trip to Air Temple Island to change her outfit.

Asami left the bedroom and manoeuvred her way past Naga who tried to leap up at her and lick her face. “How about some more water, girl?” she asked Naga as she headed to the kitchen. She went to the kitchen to put the kettle on and then refilled the polar bear dog's bowl and placed it back in the dining room. As Naga lapped up the water, Asami headed back to the bedroom where Korra had just finished dressing. “You know,” Asami said. “If you are going to be sleeping here regularly, perhaps you should store a spare set of clothes here.”

“Are you sure?” Korra asked.

“Only if you want to,” Asami said. The kettle whistled from the kitchen. “I'll just get the tea.”

As Asami was busy preparing the tea, Korra straightened the bedding and then joined Naga in the dining room. The polar bear dog took one whiff of Korra and turned her head away. “I'm not that bad, girl,” Korra complained with her hands on her hips.

Asami returned from the kitchen and placed a tray containing a steaming pot of tea and two cups down on the low table in the centre of the room. She poured Korra a cup and then sat down and poured herself one as well. “So what are your plans for the day?” Asami asked, sipping her tea.

“I thought I might follow-up with Lin about these kidnappers,” Korra replied, sitting down opposite Asami. “If they were after Varrick to learn how to develop another spirit vine weapon then there is probably more of them out there somewhere and we will need to stop them before they try again.”

“I agree,” Asami said. “The last thing we want is another one of those weapons, especially in the hands of another leader like Kuvira.”

“Do you think it is possible to develop these weapons without Varrick, Zhu Li or Baatar?”

Asami sipped her tea again and considered this. “Maybe,” she said. “All I know is that he used the untapped energy of spirit vines to somehow generate the beam, but with some experimentation it is possible that someone could replicate the design.”

“So it's inevitable then,” Korra said.

“Not necessarily,” Asami said. “Anyone that wanted to develop the weapon would need a lot of resources, including spirit vines as a power source. The biggest source of vines is probably right here in Republic City, so maybe you should suggest to Lin and Raiko that they keep an eye on the spirit wilds. Of course, the main threat from Kuvira was her giant mecha which made the weapon mobile and she needed the domes of Zaofu to provide enough metal to build it. Now they are gone it would be difficult to build another mecha of that size without someone noticing the drain on metal stocks, especially platinum which is getting very expensive.”

“Kuvira was still able to make that thing without anyone noticing,” Korra said.

“True, but she had the resources of an entire nation behind her and had all communications within the Earth Kingdom under her complete and absolute control. I doubt anyone could build another weapon like that unless they had the full support of an entire nation.”

“I hope you are right,” Korra said.

“Me too,” Asami said softly. “I never want to see another one of those things.”

Both woman sat quietly for a few minutes as they finished their tea and remembered back to the battle against Kuvira's army. Finally, Asami put her cup down and looked over at Korra. “If you do want to have lunch with me today, I should have time.”

“Okay, great,” Korra said.

Asami's purse was still sitting on the couch where she had left it the previous evening, so she reached over and dug out several one and two yuan coins. “Here,” she said, handing the coins to Korra. “You buy something nice and bring it to my office around lunch time.”

Korra hesitated for a second before accepting the coins and slipping them into a pocket. “Thanks,” she said.

“What's the matter?” Asami asked.

“Nothing.”

“Korra, I can tell something is bothering you. Is it because I gave you those coins?”

“Yeah,” Korra said. “I don't want you to have to buy me everything. I should be able to buy you food and clothes as well. When I was... away I worked and did all sorts of jobs to earn money for food.”

“Being the Avatar isn't a job though, you don't get paid for it and I don't mind.”

“I know, and that worked for Avatars in the past. But, now it seems that the world has changed and everyone has money now. When I first came to the city even buying a meal needed yuans and I had nothing to pay with because the White Lotus and my family had always provided everything. That still hasn't changed for me.”

“Yes, but it has been this way in Republic City for decades now. What did Aang do? He lived in this city for many years so would have had to deal with the same problems you do.”

“I don't know,” Korra admitted.

“Well, you can always ask Tenzin, he would know.”

“Good idea, I'll speak to him tonight.”

“Do you want more tea,” Asami asked, noticed that Korra had placed her empty cup back on the table.  
  
Korra shook her head. “No, I should probably get down to the police station to meet with Lin. I want to see if she has learned anything new.”

“Remember to take your staff,” Asami said, nodding her head towards the bedroom where Korra's glider staff was still leaning against the wall.

Korra climbed to her feet and went to the bedroom collect the staff, while Asami cleared away the tea things and carried the tray back to the kitchen. They met back in the dining room, and Asami wrapped her arms around Korra's neck and drew her girlfriend close for a deep, lingering kiss. “Have a nice day, babe,” she said as they parted. “I'll see you at lunch.”

“Until then,” Korra said. “Come on, Naga.”

Naga looked up and then over at Asami with a downcast expression on her face before she turned and trotted after Korra. Squeezing through the door, Naga left the apartment and followed Korra along the corridor past two empty apartments until she reached the staircase. A man in grey overalls with the Future Industries logo on the breast pocket hurriedly stepped back as the polar bear dog approached. He had just finished ripping out the wall that Naga had damaged on the way up the staircase the previous evening.

“Let's go, girl,” Korra said. She nodded in greeting to the workman and then headed down the stairs. Naga paused for a moment at the top of the stairs, remembering how tight it had been coming up, but still followed her mistress.

“You!” a woman's voice called out to her from somewhere below. Korra turned the corner in the staircase and was confronted by a solidly-built middle-aged woman dressed in a green and grey striped suit. The woman was looking up at her with an angry frown on her face. “Where is Ms. Sato?” she asked.

“Upstairs,” Korra said. “But...”

“Right,” the woman said. “Get this animal out of my way, I need to talk to her about stealing my best workers and leaving me with those worthless newcomers from the Fire Nation. The last thing I needed was more useless firebenders.”

“You'll need to go downstairs,” Korra told her. “I can't turn Naga around on these narrow stairs.”

“Stupid fat bear creature,” the woman muttered as she trudged down the stairs to the next floor to allow Korra to pass.

Korra stopped near the woman, Naga pushing forward and trying to peer through the door into the room where the woman was now standing. “Asami is just still getting ready,” she told the woman. “She will be down shortly so give her ten or fifteen minutes.”

“What are you, her servant?” the woman asked.

“I'm Avatar Korra.”

“Oh the Avatar are you? Well I guess you can earthbend so I'll give you a pass on holding me up. Now get out of my way so I can see what stupid project Ms. Sato has my poor earthbenders working on this time.”

Korra nodded and guided Naga down to the bottom floor of the apartment, making her way past another two workmen who were lifting a large wooden crate off the back of a large truck that had pulled up outside the apartment building. Once she was out on the footpath she stopped and looked up at the balcony of Asami's bedroom high above.

“Wait here, Naga,” Korra said as she leapt into the air and unfurled her glider staff. With Naga watching from below with a puzzled expression on her furry face, Korra circled high up into the air and eventually she was high enough to land on Asami's fifth floor balcony. The balcony door wasn't locked but she still knocked on the glass instead of barging straight inside.

Asami pulled the curtains open and, seeing Korra waiting for her, she opened the door. “What's the matter?” she asked. “I thought you were leaving.”

“There is a woman downstairs complaining about you stealing her earthbenders,” Korra said. “I thought I'd better warn you.”

“Oh,” Asami said. “That must be Lin-wei, she runs my construction division. I guess I did kind of steal some of her workers yesterday. I'll sort it out with her. Thanks for the warning, babe.”

“Any time,” Korra said, leaning forward to steal a quick kiss before she jumped off the balcony of glided back down to where Naga was waiting.

“See you at lunch,” Asami called after her, waving goodbye.

 

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

* * *

 

The Golden Tigerdillo was the largest nightclub in Republic City's ever-expanding red light district, an extravagant celebration of the decadence of the city's elite. It was also the headquarters of the Triple Threat Triad, the largest of Republic City's numerous underworld gangs, who used the club as a cover for their less legitimate business dealings. While most of their trade in illicit substances and gambling took place elsewhere, usually in smoky dives hidden from the public eye, if anyone wished to meet with the head of the Triple Threat Triad, the Golden Tigerdillo nightclub was where they would need to go.

 Driving past the glittering facade of the club with its gold-painted columns and elaborate stone statues, Shady Shin turned left into a side street and then left again into a narrow alley that ran behind the club. While the alley was kept relatively clean as alleys in the red-light district when, Shady Shin still had to guide the red hot-rod around several piles of garbage and a stack of discarded wine barrels before he pulled up next to a door in the back of the club. It was a simple wooden door with a small sliding window about two-thirds of the way up. A young man leaning nonchalantly up against the door had seen them approaching and as the vehicle pulled up, he reached up and rapped out a pattern of knocks to signal the other gang members inside.

 “Morning, Boss,” the man said as Viper climbed down from the vehicle and walked past him into the club. Shady Shin slipped a note into the man's pocket and patted him on the cheek, before he followed his leader into the back room. Two-toed Ping also nodded to the man as he followed the other two into the building.

“That was a complete waste of time,” Viper complained to his two lieutenants as he led the way up the narrow back stairs towards his luxuriously appointed office on the third floor of the club.

“We did get some to pay up, Boss,” Shady Shin said, patting his coat pocket.

“Not even a thousand yuan. Do you think that was really worth wasting most of my morning on?”

“We don't have a lot else going on now, Boss. Ever since Kuvira levelled the Downtown district a lot of our best earners are gone. Even our gambling halls are only pulling in less than a quarter of what they used to. There just isn't much money out there right now.”

Viper grunted but didn't say anything more, it was hard to argue with the truth. Since the invasion of the city had destroyed most of the legitimate businesses in the heart of the city, his illegitimate enterprises had suffered as well. Even though the majority of the evacuated population had now returned to the city and businesses were starting to rebuild times were still tough and it was hard to extort money from those who had none. The only satisfaction he took for the current situation was the knowledge at the other major triads were suffering just as much as the Triple Threats.

Reaching the third floor, the three men headed for the office which overlooked the floor of the nightclub. Two well muscled enforcers guarded the room, while a third man dressed in a hooded coat sat waiting in one of the chairs reserved for the crime boss's guests. The man was puffing on a long-stemmed pipe and the air carried the scent of an aromatic blend of tobacco.

“Well if it isn't my favourite smuggler,” Viper said with a smile. “You come bearing gifts I hope?”

The smuggler took another puff on his pipe and then with some reluctance pulled a heavy pouch of coins from a pocket in his coat and tossed it across the room to Shady Shin, who opened it and tipped the coins on to Viper's desk to quickly count them. “Not enough, Boss, only three hundred and it's in Earth Kingdom coins.”

“You disappoint me,” Viper said. “I've given you a place to stay and protected you from the police and this is all you bring back to me?”

“We agreed that you would get half of what they paid me,” the smuggler protested, putting his pipe down for the moment. “All I got was six hundred.”

“The deal was worth at least a thousand,” Viper said. “You are still two hundred short. Did you complete the job?”

The smuggler grimaced. “Things got too hot,” he said. “They kidnapped Varrick, you know what sort of heat that sort of thing will bring down. Things got serious and the last I heard Beifong and the Avatar were involved.”

“I saw the morning papers,” Viper said. “I know what happened to them, but that doesn't change the fact that you still owe me another two hundred yuan. A deal is a deal, I gave you a thousand yuans worth of work and you come back to me with a measly three hundred.”

When the smuggler still hesitated, Shady Shin reach inside his coat and pulled out his knife, using it to pick his fingernails clean as he smiled at the man. The smuggler cursed under his breath and reached into his coat pocket and pulled out another heavy bag of coins. He counted out a few coins into his hand and then shoved them into his pocket before he tossed the bag across to Shady Shin who counted out the remaining coins and then nodded to Viper.

Viper inclined his head towards the stairs. “All right, get out of here. I'll contact you if we have any more work.”

As the smuggler headed for the stairs, grumbling under his breath, Viper took his seat near the window overlooking the main floor of the club. As it was still several hours before opening time, the club would normally have been empty of customers, but today a small group of men and women dressed in nondescript clothing sat around one of the tables near the stage. A tall, muscular man in a dark-green business suit was standing next to the visitors and chatting to them. As if he had felt his employer's eyes on him, the man looked up at the window to Viper's office and nodded once before leaving the group and heading towards the back of the club.

“Put at money in the safe,” Viper ordered, glancing over at Shady Shin.

His lieutenant nodded and walked across the far wall to open a large grey safe bolted securely to the floor. He placed the two bags of Earth Kingdom coins and a large stack of Republic City yuans in the safe and then spun the tumbler in the lock to secure the safe door before he crossed the room to stand beside his boss. The door opened and Marook, the tall, well-dressed manager of the club, walked into the room.

“I've got someone downstairs waiting to see you, boss,” he said.

“I can see that.” Viper said. “Who is it?”

“The same bunch as last time. They say they have another job for us.”

Viper frowned. “The last one didn't exactly work out as they planned. There is no sign of any police activity nearby is there?”

“Our informants haven't mentioned anything,” Marook replied.

“All right, show them up. But it had better pay off this time, I don't have time for any more trouble with Beifong.”

Marook nodded and headed back downstairs. Meanwhile, Viper picked up a loose coin that had fallen out of one of the smuggler's bags and rolled across his desk until it had come to rest beneath his desk lamp. Flipping the coin between his fingers he sat back and waited for his visitors.

 

* * *

 

The narrow gorge where the train had come to a stop was heating up as the sun climbed into the cloudless sky. It was still morning, but already the day was shaping up as extremely hot and uncomfortable. Standing beside the rails not far from the front of the trapped train, Mako was watching as the small group of earthbenders from the United Forces troops assigned to protect Wu began working to clearing the track. He wished he could help, but his firebending abilities would be of little use against the piles of stone and earth that were blocking the track so he had to sit and watch as they worked.

“I don't like this,” Mako said after several minutes had passed in silence as the work continued. Mako could already see the earthbenders were beginning to get tired and there was still a lot more rubble to clear.

Standing next to Mako, Bumi nodded, reaching up to stroke Bum-ju's fur. The dragonfly-bunny spirit had appeared shortly after the troops had begun work. Mako wasn't sure exactly where it had come from though, as he was certain that he hadn't seen the spirit with Bumi earlier and it definitely hadn't been in the carriage when they departed Republic City.

“I've spoken to the engineer,” Bumi said. “He said that he has made radio contact with the next station and that they have dispatched a track repair crew to help us.”

“Did he say how long they will take to reach us?”

“Not until tomorrow,” Bumi replied. “According to the engineer we are almost halfway between two stations, right on the edge of the Great Divide.”

“And you don't find that suspicious?” Mako asked.

“Of course,” the airbender replied. “But, we have been stuck here for two hours at least now and we haven't seen anyone else around so this could just be a natural rockfall.”

The rest of the troops, those who weren't busy working to clear the rubble, had taken up positions along the edge of the gorge to guard against any potential ambush, but in Mako's opinion there were too few of them and far too much space to protect. “Maybe you could fly up and check things out from the air,” he suggested to Bumi. “See if you can spot anyone or anything approaching us.”

The older airbender nodded. “I'll take Ryu. The land to the east of here is pretty flat, so we should be able to spot anything coming towards us from that direction. I doubt they will be coming from the west across the Great Divide.” With a burst of air he used his airbending to carry himself up to the roof of the train and headed off along the top of the carriages towards the royal carriage to collect Ryu who was waiting with the other two airbenders and Prince Wu.

Mako returned to watching the work the earthbenders were doing, growing frustrated at the slow rate of progress. Several minutes later a voice behind him called out. “Mako!”

Mako groaned in annoyance as he turned and saw Prince Wu atop one of his badger-moles walking along the side of the train towards him. “I thought I told you to stay inside,” he said. “It isn't safe out here.”

Wu waved his hand dismissively. “Nonsense, I am in no danger, not with you and Baobei here to protect me.” He stroked the fur on the top of the badger-mole's head. The massive creature didn't seem to notice the Wu's touch and continue to plod its way slowly towards the front of the train, its clawed feet digging easily into the rocky ground beside the rails.

“We still don't know what caused this,” Mako argued. “I'd prefer it if you were safe inside with Lei and Jing-mei. Where are they by the way?”

“Up here,” Lei called out from the roof of the carriage. Mako looked up and saw both of the airbending women walking along the top of the train carriage keeping an eye on Wu.

“I thought I told you to keep the prince out of trouble.”

“Don't blame them,” Wu said. “I ordered them to let me leave the carriage. It is getting too hot in there and I hate to think what that is doing to my skin. Besides, it's been two hours and we haven't seen anyone waiting to ambush us.”

“You don't know that,” Mako said.

A rush of air and a blur of red wing-suits announced the return of Bumi and Ryu, who flew down from the top of the gorge to land next to Mako. “There is someone coming,” Bumi warned.

“Who is it?” Mako asked Bumi. He glared up at Wu who raised his eyebrows and folded his arms across his chest and glared back at his bodyguard.

“I'm not sure,” Bumi replied. “I could see a line of dust from vehicles in the distance heading towards us. They are too far away to see numbers yet.”

“Okay, get back up there and let me know when you know more.”

Bumi nodded and leapt back into the air, gliding upwards toward the top of the gorge. “There is something up there as well,” Lei called down from the roof of the carriage. The airbender pointed at a point above the front of the train and past where the earthbenders were still working to clear the tracks.

Mako followed the line of Lei's arm, searching for the object she was pointing at. High above the gorge, a tiny black dot was moving across the sky towards them and soon the breeze carried the humming sound of a distant engine to them. “A biplane,” Mako said. “Get into cover now!”

“They could be a rescue party,” Wu said.

“Bumi said that the engineer spoke to the next station, he would have said something if they were sending out a biplane to find us. So do what I say and get back inside the carriage.”

Wu nodded and accepted Mako's help to climb down off the back of the badger-mole and up into the carriage. “Make sure he stays inside this time,” Mako told Lei as the two airbenders floated down from the top of the carriage and helped the prince back up into the carriage. Once Wu was safely back inside the train, Mako jogged towards the front of the train to warn the soldiers, although by the time he reached them, their commander had already readied them for a potential attack and they had taken up secure positions behind what little cover was available.

The sound of the biplane's engines gradually grew louder and soon it flew directly over the trapped train, before banking to the right and pulling around in a wide turn. Mako watched the biplane as it flew above them, noting that it lacked any identifying marks, and that the biplane was armed with several large bombs slung under the wings. The goggle-covered face of a passenger could also be seen peering over the side of the plane as it passed.

The biplane finished its long turn and headed back towards them again, this time lined up with the tracks and flying lower than it did on the first pass. “Take cover,” Mako yelled to two of the crew who had left the engine to see what was happening. Without waiting to see if they followed his order, he ran for the edge of the gorge and ducked under an overhanging ledge. It wouldn't provide much shelter from a bomb, but it might just be enough to save his life. The United Forces soldiers had already taken up secure positions and their commander had obviously determined the biplane was a threat as several of the benders sent jets of flame and chunks of rock flying towards the aircraft.

The biplane pilot jinked around the attacks and continued to fly directly over the train. Everyone nearby braced for an incoming bomb and an explosion, but it never came. Instead, the biplane flew along the entire length of the train without attacking. Mako slipped out from beneath the ledge to see what was happening and was just in time to see two of the bombs detached from the wings and the biplane banked sharply to the left, pulling up and away from the gorge. Twin explosions sounded from the rear of the train, closely followed by the sound of falling rubble. Clouds of dust rose into the air from the site of the explosion as rocks tumbled down the sides of the gorge.

Running as fast as he could, Mako hurried towards the rear of the train to see what the damage was. He soon discovered that the section of the gorge directly behind them now also lay half-buried in rubble. The bombs had hit the sides of the gorge and it had collapsed inwards and covered the rails. The sound of the biplane had now vanished, so it didn't look like their attackers intended to return to drop more bombs on the train itself. The biplane's mission had obviously been to ensure there was no way that the train could retreat and it had been entirely successful. They were now completely trapped, unable to go forward or backwards. Mako gritted his teeth and looked towards the top of the gorge, hoping that Bumi and Ryu would soon return with more information on their attackers.

 

* * *

 

The eastern precinct police station was relatively quiet when Korra and Naga arrived outside the front entrance. A couple of the officers standing around chatting near several parked police satomobiles looked over at her as she rode past them, but they soon returned to their discussion, which was obviously more important than the arrival of the Avatar.

“Wait here, Girl,” Korra said to Naga as she pulled the polar bear dog up in an empty parting place not far from the station entrance and jumped down from the saddle.

“Avatar Korra!” a shrill voice called out as Korra headed towards the stairs leading up to the station's main entrance.

Korra turned and saw a short man wearing a round hat and glasses detach himself from the group of police officers outside the station and come hurrying towards her. The man had a large boxy camera hanging from a strap around his neck and was holding a thick notebook and pen in one hand and had a copy of a newspaper tucked under his arm. Everything about him screamed reporter to her, so she turned away and continued walking towards the station, picking up the pace to try to encourage him to leave her alone.

“Avatar Korra!” the man called out again, closer this time.

She spun around and glared at him. “What do you want?” she demanded. Naga also walked over from where Korra had left her as if she had sensed that Korra was being threatened. The big polar bear dog sniffed at the reporter's leg and then bared her teeth and snarled.

He pulled up quickly at the sight of Naga's sharp fangs, but wasn't completely deterred, waving the copy of the newspaper in the air. “Would you care to comment on the article in today's Republic News?” he asked.

Korra frowned. “I haven't seen the Republic News today,” she said. “So no comment.”

“Is it true that you are now reunited with your former lover, Mako?”

“Wh... what? Where did you get that idea from? Mako and I are only friends.”

“Oh, so the picture on this front page of the Republic News that shows the two of you in a passionate hug isn't real then?” He held up a copy of the newspaper in question so Korra could see the front page.

Korra glared at the page, annoyed to see that a photographer had indeed captured an image of her hugging Mako goodbye on the station platform the previous day. “Well, no, I did hug Mako when he left for Ba Sing Se yesterday, but it was just a hug. He was a friend who was leaving for some time, it doesn't mean anything more than that.”

“So are you denying that there is anything romantic between you and Mako then? Despite this fairly conclusive photographic evidence?”

“Go cover some real news stories,” she snapped. She stamped her foot on the ground, using her earthbending to raise a small, circular platform of pavement beneath the reporter that spun him around to face the road. She then bent the platform to one side and gave him a short, sharp push away from her. The reporter stumbled away and fell into the arms of one of the police officers who had watched events unfold. The officer nodded to Korra as she stomped off into the station. Meanwhile, Naga closed her jaws and lay down next to the stairs to wait for Korra's return, although she kept one eye open and warily watched the reporter as he struggled to extract himself from the police officer's arms.

“Did you see that?” He said, brushing down his clothes and glaring towards the station entrance. “She attacked me!”

The officer who had prevented him falling looked at him calmly. “I didn't see anything,” she said calmly.

“What?”

“That's right,” another officer said, slapping a large, meaty hand on the reporter's shoulder. “We are... what did you call us in your last article? Inept, poorly-trained thugs who couldn't tie their own shoelaces.”

There was a chuckle from several other officers and with a final glare, the reporter jerked free of the officer's hand and strode off down the street towards his parked satomobile. Just before he climbed into the vehicle he snapped a couple of quick shots with his camera of the officers and Naga before leaping into his satomobile and driving away. Naga sniffed the air, but seemed finally satisfied that the threat had been driven off, so she closed her eyes and settled in to wait until her mistress returned.

 

* * *

 


End file.
